Howard T Hermann

Howard T Hermann of Bedford, Massachusetts, passed away on March 14th, 2022 at the age of 96.

Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1925, Howard was the son of Simon and Rose Herman (née Goeller). As a child of the Great Depression, he overcame poverty, antisemitism, and a harsh upbringing to achieve a lifetime filled with accomplishments and happiness. At age 16 he was a Westinghouse Scholar semi-finalist, earning him a full scholarship to Cornell. He completed his undergraduate degree in 2 years and then went on to Medical School at Albany Medical College, spending his fourth year as acting chief resident in Neurosurgery under the supervision of Professor Eldredge Campbell. He interned at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, which proved fortuitous in many ways as that is where he met his wife to be, Deborah Katz. His residency in Baltimore was followed by a Post Doctoral fellowship at McGill University with a focus on psychiatry, neuroscience, and neurophysiology. He continued his Post Doctoral  Psychiatric training at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. From 1955 to 1988 he taught at Harvard Medical school, and served as Staff Psychiatrist in the MIT Department of Psychiatry from 1955-1992. In 1980, he became a full professor in the Neuroscience Department of Boston University School of Medicine. Throughout his teaching career, he conducted fundamental research in neurophysiology, neurology and psychiatry. He had a long time affiliation with Massachusetts General, McLean, and Beth Israel hospitals, as well as with Boston and Bedford VA hospitals. He combined his academic pursuits with a military career that began as a Captain in the US Army Medical Corps from 1952-54, during which he served as a psychiatrist stationed at Valley Forge Army Hospital in Pennsylvania and culminated as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force from 1980 to 1988. In the Air Force, he was an Emergency Medicine Physician, Acting Flight Surgeon, Psychiatrist, and Clinical Director of the ENR Memorial VA Medical Center in Bedford, MA. During this time he acted as a consultant to the USAF, studying Human operator response characteristics in controlling high performance aircraft as well as re-envisioning computational integration in coordinated command control of battlefield environments. He, also, maintained a part-time private psychiatry practice for  21 years and was a member of numerous professional societies. For 68 years of marriage, he cherished and adored his wife, Deborah. As a couple, they loved to travel, both in the United States and abroad, in Europe, Africa, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Scandinavia, Israel, and the USSR. A sabbatical year at Sussex University, in England, instilled a lifelong affection and connection to Britain for the entire family. Although Newtonville, MA was their home city for 58 years, throughout that time and beyond it, most weekends and vacations took place in Conway, NH in the A frames that he helped build in the early 1950’s. These vacation homes afforded the whole family easy access to skiing, mountain climbing, canoeing and other outdoor adventures. A true renaissance man and jack of all trades, his academic skills were matched by his prowess in carpentry, woodworking, plumbing, electrical wiring and general house maintenance. He coupled this with an innate artistic ability that he pursued with passion in his later years. He inspired and mentored a generation of young men and women to achieve their dreams. As our father, he took the 5 of us children on wonderful mountain hikes, ski trips and walks, entertained us with imaginative stories, encouraged us to think critically about our actions and our world, and infused our lives with classical music, laughter, and an appreciation for introspection and correct grammar. He, truly, taught us that the unexamined life is not worth living. To the end, he maintained his warmth, charm, and impressive vocabulary. We miss him and our mother dearly. He leaves behind his 5 children and their spouses, 12 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life is planned for July 16th, 2022 at 11 a.m. at the MIT Chapel, 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in honor of Howard T. Hermann to act.hias.org or you can mail a check to HIAS, P.O. Box 97077, Washington, DC 20090-7077